Chuck vs The One That Almost Got Away
by stasts
Summary: Chuck gets called in to the Buy More early and Chuck, Sarah, Casey each learn something unexpected. Takes place between DeLorean and Santa Claus. May include some of vs The Prequel. Some Chuck and Sarah. Reviews welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Chuck vs The One That Almost Got Away is a story idea I had while doing vs The Prequel.  
The plan is to give it the style and organization of an actual episode - more dialog and action than my last effort.  
It'll also be broken up into 6 parts to follow where the commercial breaks would be.

Standard disclaimers apply about not owning Chuck, etc. Hope you enjoy, and feedback is certainly welcome!

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"Hey sis!" Chuck said with an alert tone.

"Morning," Ellie answered looking at her watch, "you're up early... well, 45 minutes early. What's the occasion?"

"Emmett's calling me in for some emergency at the Buy More."

"And why then are you in a good mood?" she asked in her protective voice.

"Because," he said with a grin, "whatever's going on at the Buy More made him desperate enough to trade 45 minutes today for a few extra days off around the holidays."

Ellie's smile told him his answer eased his big sister's concerns. "I assume you're going to put that time to good use with Sarah?"

Chuck looked up from his coffee. "Just what are you implying Ellie Bartowski?" he asked playfully.

Ellie blushed slightly. "I didn't mean - I just know that the holidays can be a special time, and I want the two of you to be happy together."

"It would be nice... wouldn't it?" he heard himself accidentally admit.

"Why wouldn't it be? Chuck? What's wrong?"

Chuck kicked himself. If his relationship with Sarah was anywhere near normal he wouldn't have a need to filter everything he said through a cover story. Instead, his mind struggled to constantly maintain the right responses by putting the spy world over his heart.

"Nothing... Nothing sis," he attempted to backtrack, "I - I just have to see if Sarah's free on my new days off."

Ellie nodded trying to imply she was following, without actually following.

"Well, do you have any plans yet?" she continued.

Chuck began to grow increasingly uncomfortable. There would be no way for him to make something up without knowing what the spy world would throw at him next.

"Still working on it," he said as he headed towards the door, "Maybe we can talk about it later, I need to get going so I get those days off... See you."

Ellie watched her brother disappear behind the closing door. "Okay. Hope so."

***********

Chuck barely managed to make his way into the entrance of the Buy More before Emmett began running towards him.

"Ch-- Ch--" Emmett struggled to say.

Chuck couldn't tell if Emmett was out of breath or simply hyperventilating. "Relax... slow breaths... What's going on?"

"It's... It's Big Mike's computer... It won't start up this morning," he said waving his hand towards Big Mike's office, "and you know how he gets without his fishing forecast!"

"You're right," Chuck said sarcastically, "that does sound like an emergency."

"I know we've had our differences in the past Chuck," he said regaining his composure, "but you've got to do this. He asked for you specifically." Emmett straighted himself as tall as he could. "Do it for Buymoria!"

"Buy-what?" Chuck said in confusion.

Emmett gave Chuck a sinister glare. "Don't tell me you don't recognize this great nation."

"Whatever," Chuck said walking passed him, "I'll take care of it."

***********

Chuck began with his usual set of automated diagnostics. The screen estimated the tests would take at least an hour and a half to complete.

As Chuck sat watching the progress bar eventually advance from 0 to 1%, he realized he once had found this kind of work exciting.

The promotion from sales associate to Nerd Herder had felt like a big one at the time, but it wasn't all he had hoped it would be. The pay wasn't particularly much higher, and while he did get to drive a company car, he felt like the time spent out on calls had caused him to lose touch with the friends he had made at the store.

He had tried the last few days to reconnect with some of his coworkers, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was a bit of a stranger to the rest of them. During his time as the Intersect, that feeling had grown. He mostly missed his friendship with Morgan, but now days at the Buy More had begun feeling like they were his 'other job'.

He looked at the screen again. The progress bar remained at 1%.

"Okay, this is taking too long, even for me. Gotta find something to do." he said standing up. Noticing some shipping boxes that someone had left on the showroom floor, he mused "Well, it's better than nothing."

Repeating a task he had done so many times earlier in his Buy More career, he took the boxes outside to the appropriate recycle container. As he closed the lid and turned around, he threw his hands up.

"Hi," said the man holding the gun.

"I get it, okay, moving supplies are expensive. Take all the boxes you want," Chuck nervously said pointing to the container, "no need for guns."

"I'm not here for boxes..." he said looking at the Nerd Herd name tag, "'Chuck'. Where is she now?"

"Uh, she? She who?"

"Don't play stupid. I saw you talking to her - the female agent - yesterday."

Chuck's eyes widened.

"I see you know what I mean, so stop wasting my time. I saw her here today. When she spotted me she glanced at you before disappearing."

For a moment Chuck was stunned more by the realization he had somehow failed to notice Sarah than by his current predicament.

"Know what 'Chuck'? I've got a better idea." he said pulling a different looking gun from his jacket.

Chuck cringed as he felt the shot hit him. Looking down he saw the needle end of a dart sticking into his shoulder.

"Oh God" he cried as he felt himself becoming lightheaded and collapsing.

As he watched his vision blur, he heard the familiar sounds of Casey's silencer. The would-be kidnapper quickly fell in pain.

Chuck watched the blob of Buy More green kneel down next to him. Despite the effects of the tranquilizer, he tried his best to scream "Casey!"

The touch of a soft hand checking his pulse finally made him feel safe.

"Sarah..." he mumbled before passing out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck groaned as he regained consciousness.

As far as he could tell, he was still outside and now sitting up against a wall.

In front of him he could make out two white blobs and one green blob. "What happened? Did you get him?" he asked.

Morgan's voice replied to his question, "Get who Chuck?"

Rubbing his eyes, he began seeing clearly. Morgan, Anna, and Skip were standing in front of him.

"You okay Chuckles?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, I think. Had the strangest dream..."

Chuck blinked a few more times before looking around. There were no bad guys with guns holding him hostage, nor any tranquilizer darts sticking out of him.

Morgan and Anna helped him to his feet. "Looks like you must've passed out or something."

Chuck smiled weakly. "Guess that's what I get for skipping my Berry Loops."

"Dude, you know how important breakfast is," Morgan began lecturing, "ooh, here comes Emmett. See ya back inside."

"Thanks," Chuck said rubbing his temples.

"Chuck," Emmett said trying to sound sympathetic, "I just heard about your 'incident'. Since your injury happened during your shift on the Buy More premises, I've brought these forms for you to sign for your worker's compensation."

"I'm fine." Chuck insisted.

"Oh," Emmett replied in surprise, "Well, in that case take all the time getting the free- I mean 'fresh' air you need."

"Thanks." Chuck said dryly. He looked around once more, but couldn't see any signs of what he had imagined.

Chuck walked back into the store and sat down at the Nerd Herd desk, hoping to clear the remaining cobwebs from his head.

Morgan appeared out of nowhere. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah buddy, just a little out of focus."

"No, I mean your shoulder dude."

After trying to process everything he thought had happened, he hadn't realized he was scratching his shoulder at all. Looking closer, Chuck noticed a tiny hole in his shirt. Under that hole an altogether itchy bump had formed.

He quickly stood up and fought the dizziness that remained. "On second thought, I'm gonna go see Sarah - okay?"

"Alright..." Morgan said with a smirk, "a little Nurse Walker and patient Bartowski... rock-n-roll..."

"Morgan..." he began to protest, pointing his finger at the bearded perv.

"Nevermind." Chuck concluded before walking out the door.

"Hey, are we still on for lunch?" Morgan yelled after him.

***********

Chuck quickly made his way down the stairway into Castle.

"Hey, I appreciate you guys saving my life. You got anything for this itch?"

"Sounds like a personal problem Bartowski" Casey chuckled.

"Ha ha. I mean my shoulder, where the dart hit me."

Casey and Sarah dropped what they were doing. "Chuck," Sarah worriedly asked, "what dart?"

"You know. The dart from the guy Casey shot at the Buy More."

"Bartowski, I haven't been to the Buy More yet."

Chuck's eyes widened.

Sarah stood up. "Okay, Chuck, start over. Tell us what happened."

"Uh... I was at the Buy More, and I took some boxes out to the back recycle container. When I turned around, there was this guy. And he was looking for you Sarah. Then he shot me with a dart gun and when I started passing out I heard Casey shoot the guy. And then you checked on me. Morgan and Anna were there when I woke up."

The more Chuck told his story, the more the two agents looked alarmed.

"I saw you Casey. Well... I couldn't exactly see you, but I heard your gun..."

Chuck tried to fight the unease from their silence, "...and who else would enjoy sporting Buy More green... right?"

"Casey," Sarah commanded.

Casey sat down to a computer station and began typing. "Already on it."

Sarah guided Chuck into one of the chairs at their command table. "Now tell me about the person who shot you. Did you flash on him?"

"No, I didn't flash. He was-" Chuck tried hard to remember his attacker, "just some guy. A little shorter that me I guess. He had a real gun, and then shot me with the dart gun he had in his jacket."

Chuck brought his eyes back to Sarah's. "Sorry, that's all I can remember."

"Great work Bartowski..."

Sarah glared at her partner. "Casey, lay off. It's okay Chuck, we'll get something from the cameras. Let's get something for that itch."

"Walker," Casey interrupted, "we've got a bigger problem."

"What do you mean 'bigger problem'?" Chuck asked.

"I mean, the footage from the camera that covers that area is missing."

"What about the satellite coverage?" Sarah asked.

"Blocked by the roof overhang."

Chuck tried to keep up with what was going on. "What do you mean the footage is 'missing'?"

"Don't know. Gone, blanked out, missing."

"Move Casey," Chuck said waving his hands, "let me do my thing."

Sarah tried in vain to stifle the smile watching David try to shoo Goliath.

"Fine," Casey relented.

Chuck took his position and ceremoniously cracked his knuckles.

Casey rolled his eyes at the demonstration. "Get on with it Bartowski."

"Let's see here..." Chuck said as he began typing. "Looks like the camera footage has been-"

"Has been what?" Sarah inquired.

"Has been deleted." Chuck said with a puzzled look on his face. "That can't be right."

Sarah leaned in. "Can you get it back?"

Chuck resumed his rapid typing. "I'll try."

Casey turned to Sarah. "Walker, if someone's identified you, your cover is blown. We'll need to contact General Beckman."

Chuck stopped typing to notice Sarah's worried look. "Uh guys, it's gone. The video feed looks like it was scrambled before it was erased." He paused for a moment hoping to hear something from either agent. "So what do we do now?"

Casey glanced at Sarah. "Well, we can't let another fugitive go," he answered sarcastically. "Bartowski and I will go check on the camera while Walker stays put in Castle."

"C'mon," he said motioning for Chuck to follow.

***********

Retracing Chuck's steps out through the back doors, Chuck and Casey came upon another Buy More employee laying on the ground.

"Jeff!" Chuck yelled as he ran towards his fellow Nerd Herder.

"Huh?" Jeff said groggily sitting up. "Not cool. You interrupted my nap."

Chuck looked at his watch. "Jeff, it's not even 10:30."

"I was not meant for this time zone," he replied as he laid back down.

"Right... well, I'm just going to show John here how to install and repair the security camera from the Buy More's spy shop."

Casey growled.

"Sorry, best I could come up with," he whispered.

Casey unfolded the ladder and climbed up to the camera. After inspecting the gear, he shook his head.

"What does that mean?" Chuck asked loudly.

"Shh." Casey hushed.

"It means," he said after climbing back down, "that no one's touched the camera."

"But how do you know-" Chuck began to ask.

"Layers of dust moron... If someone had done something to it, there would be a smudge or they would've cleaned it off completely."

"Makes sense," Chuck agreed shaking his head, "what's next?"

"We do this the old fashioned way," he answered with a frown, "we ask if anyone here saw someone at the Buy More who didn't belong."

"You mean like detectives?" Chuck asked eagerly.

"Just get in the store Bartowski" Casey answered, shoving Chuck towards the doors.

***********

"Lester," Chuck started as he walked up to the helpdesk, "have you by any chance seen... oh, I don't know, any 'extra' employees today?"

"I see what you're trying to do Charles," Lester said proudly, "and let me tell you, from personal experience, you do not want to follow this path."

Chuck's lack of progress wore his patience thin. "What could you possibly be talking about?"

"As a former member of management, I can say that once you begin worrying about proper procedures around here, it is a slippery slope. A SLIPPERY SLOPE to career destruction. You do NOT want to go there."

Chuck found himself feeling like Casey-lite. "Lester," he snapped back, "just tell me if you've seen anyone here that isn't a customer and doesn't work here!"

"No- Nobody, I swear!" he confessed.

"Great," he said slapping the desk out of frustration. Chuck had asked nearly everyone who was on the schedule today, except for... Emmett.

Chuck surveyed the floor and spotted Casey trying to get answers out of him. "Oh, that's not going to end well," he muttered before deciding to flee for the safety of the Orange Orange.

***********

Sarah and Chuck tried to avoid the inevitable anger from Casey as he entered Castle.

"Remind me to ask Beckman for permission to kill that man." he grumbled.

The communications display flipped on with General Beckman's likeness filling the screen.

"Ask me what Major?"

Casey reached the bottom of the stairs and stood straight. "Nothing General. We were just about to contact you."

"Yes," she continued, "the incident with the Intersect. The man's name is Roper Williams. He is a mid-level mercenary for hire. While in your vicinity, he spotted an agent that apparently has a bounty on her head. Unfortunately the Intersect was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Chuck was the first to feel caught off guard. "Wait - when did the Buy More become the Spy More?" he interjected.

General Beckman paused to let him know to stop talking.

"Right, sorry." Chuck apologized.

"We can't have any more unexpected visitors. I am sending the agent over immediately. You are to cooperate with her to track down and resolve this matter. She is not to know the identity of the Intersect, and the details of her current mission are off limits to your team. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Casey answered for the group, "but I don't understand. I perform background checks on all of the employees at the shopping center. I-"

General Beckman interrupted him, "I have to say Major that I'm a little disappointed. Deal with it."

The screen went blank.

Watching Casey tense was like watching a volcano getting ready to explode.

"I'm sure you did your best..." Chuck offered.

Sarah put her hand on Chuck's. "Not now." she whispered out of concern.

"So who would've known to come back to the Buy More?" Chuck inquired. "Ilsa? Carina? Oh, please don't be Carina," Chuck began wishing, "please please please..."

"I've never been a Carina," claimed the voice behind them.

Sarah and Casey drew their weapons and swivelled around.

"YOU???" Casey grunted.

"What- How!?!" asked Chuck in disbelief.

Sarah felt her jaw drop. "My God."


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm sorry it took so long to post this continuation of the story. I honestly didn't want to leave you hanging like that._

_Hopefully this and the next few parts will make up for it. :) _

* * *

"Hi Chuck, John," the agent greeted them.

"Sarah, we haven't really met before," she said holding out her hand, "I'm 'Charlene' - also with the CIA."

Sarah looked at her in disbelief. 'Charlene' as her name tag read, was the redhead sales associate she had seen at the Buy More. She was one of Chuck's co-workers that he didn't regularly spend much time around. Now a Buy More employee that had otherwise not caught her attention was standing in a government operations center, wearing her green and khaki uniform. "I have to say I'm surprised," Sarah admitted while shaking Charlene's hand.

"It's always the quiet ones right?" Charlene said smiling back.

Casey looked at her with contempt. "Well before we all start getting friendly around here, in case you hadn't noticed, this isn't the Buy More. It's Major Casey to you. Second, how did you get in here without tripping the security system?"

"General Beckman gave me the access code to one of the entrances from the Buy More, so I thought I'd come here the proper way."

"What do you mean 'the proper way'?" he asked, finally putting away his gun.

"Joh--, Major Casey, the security sensors protecting that entrance were recalled a few months ago. They're pretty easy to bypass."

Chuck and Sarah turned and looked at Casey. "Not a word out of either of you," he threatened, "How do you know about the recall?"

"It's part of my job to track things like that... closer to my area of expertise."

"Hey, wait a minute," Chuck realized, "since when did you start speaking with an accent?"

"This is my accent. The one you're used to is just for cover," Charlene continued noticing Chuck's confusion, "...Chuck, with all the movies and TV you watch, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise that someone like me can do an American accent."

Sarah looked up and briefly glared at her.

Casey grinned. "Well Walker... I think I'm starting to like her. Now," he said turning serious, "what happened to the camera feed... and how the hell did you manage to avoid showing up on any of my background checks?"

"Making sure I don't stand out on background checks and keeping anyone else from seeing what the camera recorded are both mission related."

Charlene saw that her answer wasn't sufficient for Major Casey. "Orders..." she added.

Casey thought for a moment before nodding and sitting down, much to Chuck's surprise.

"Mind if I take a seat too?" Charlene asked, "It's been a busy morning."

"Yeah, about that." Chuck chimed in, "I guess I should be thanking you for saving my life. It seems so weird...", he trailed off looking uncomfortable, "not that you couldn't save my life or anything, but I guess I didn't expect yet another spy to be at the Buy More."

"Anyway," he continued with a pause, "what exactly happened... this morning... to me?"

"Bad timing, " Charlene said sitting down. "I recognized the guy that attacked you. I knew he was the work for hire type, but I wasn't sure if he was here for me or maybe for whatever makes you special. When I watched him follow you out the back, I made my way around and kept him from taking off with you. Once I made sure you were okay, I 'took care of the situation'. By the time I got back to the Buy More, I saw that a couple of your friends were already looking after you."

Casey narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think Bartowski here is somehow special?"

"Well," she said trying to choose her words carefully, "No offense Chuck, but it doesn't appear you're exactly a fully trained field agent,"

"None taken." Chuck clarified.

"and while I'm pretty sure no one else at the store is really paying any attention to what's going on, there's a habit for you guys to talk a little too loud about being spies and about spy-related activities just before leaving the store."

Sarah watched the anger return to Casey's face.

Chuck took his turn to ask the next question, "What happened to the guy that shot me? Is he..."

"Just wounded - and being questioned soon, if not already, about what he knows."

"Wow, how did you do all that?"

Charlene lightly smiled but didn't answer.

Casey stood up and slammed his fist down onto the table, "It means, idiot, that she had help. She's probably not the only agent around here that we don't know about."

"Wait, Casey, where are you going?" Chuck asked.

"I've got some sensors to replace." he angrily replied.

"But what about the guy that shot me, or the mission?" Chuck persisted.

"Oh, don't you worry," Casey grumbled menacingly while storming out of the room, "I'll be listening."

"So," Sarah said hoping to shake the feeling of being the odd one out, "why was someone at the Buy More looking for you?"

"Here's as much as General Beckman's allowing me share with you: it might be related to my previous mission. A European research lab had been contracted by the US military to produce a supercooling chemical code-named 'Wonderflonium'. There was an intelligence report that a security breach had taken place there and that a large sample of the chemical had been stolen. The lab didn't want to lose its funding, so they refused to cooperate and even tried to cover the whole thing up. I was sent in to collect any information they didn't want us to know about."

"Not long after, we got a lead that it was going to be sold on the black market, and that the exchange was likely going to take place soon. I was added to the team responsible for tracking and recapturing the stolen canister. Another team was assigned to identify the buyer."

"After a couple months of him just barely getting away, I managed to follow him to the US and capture him here in LA. Lucky for us, he was still carrying the canister with him, and it was still intact. From what I understood, the other team never managed to identify who the buyer would have been."

"Wow, that sounds pretty cool," Chuck enthusiastically said, "but what about the guy that shot me?"

"The guy that shot you Chuck, Roper Williams, was someone the other team suspected might have been hired to help secure the sale of the Wonderflonium. The General believes that the buyer wasn't too happy that I killed the deal, and that this 'Williams' was kept on, among other things, to find me. He apparently didn't have any trouble getting onto the Buy More's WiFi network, because he used it to make a call."

Chuck turned to Sarah, trying to be helpful. "It's easy for anybody to get on the wireless network - they always make the password 'Buy More' plus the store number."

"He must have thought calling that way wouldn't be as easy to trace as a regular phone call." Charlene continued, "Since I'm responsible for monitoring the store's network, I was able to get a location for whoever he called."

"Ouch," Chuck said grimacing, "that's a lot of Jeff and Lester traffic to filter through... you have my sympathies."

"Thanks," Charlene said slightly laughing, "The other side of that call came from a chemical lab about 30 minutes from here. If the original Wonderflonium research data was also stolen, it might give someone at this lab the ability to produce their own sample. General Beckman's orders are for us to get a clearer idea of what's going on and do what we can to keep that from happening."

"Chuck," Charlene continued, "our first task is for the two of us to get in and bug their network."

Chuck raised his hand. "What about Sarah and Casey?"

"They'll be outside, monitoring the feed."

Chuck's smiled to himself until he noticed Sarah's gaze. "Sorry... it's just that... you know, me - van... okay. But hey," he said trying to avoid the awkwardness, "why me? Why not Sarah or Casey?"

"It's okay Chuck." Sarah replied partially for her own benefit.

"Out of the four of us," Charlene explained, "you and I are going to look the most like repair personnel. Plus our technical backgrounds will help us sell our cover."

Chuck laughed for a moment. "Yeah, 'cop-face' had a problem with that kind of cover."

"One question though," Chuck inquired turning more serious, "what happens if they make their own 'Wonder-whatever'?"

The redhead shrugged. "It made a lot of them really nervous when the original sample was stolen. They never gave me high enough clearance to learn why."

"We'll need some equipment from my apartment." she stated standing up.

She turned and looked down at Chuck. "Want to come along?"

Chuck squirmed in his seat as he tried to avoid having to answer.

"I'm sorry," Charlene apologized to Sarah, "I forgot he might not be allowed."

"No-" a flustered Sarah said, "No, of course he can go. I just need a moment with him before he leaves."

"Sure," Charlene responded with a smile, "I'll be over at the Buy More."

"Chuck," Sarah said speaking quietly, "please keep your watch on you at all times. If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, you activate the distress call and-"

"Sarah," Chuck whispered as he looked into her eyes, "...thanks. I promise you, no repeats of what happened with Jill. I would never disappear from you again."

"Bartowski!" Casey's gruff voice made both Sarah and Chuck jump.

Casey held out a plate of appetizers. "Since you've somehow managed to get yourself in the middle of an important mission, how about you not pass out again huh?"

Chuck blinked in amazement. "I completely forgot- I've got to tell Morgan that I can't do lunch."

"Thanks Casey," Chuck said taking a bite, "these are pretty good."

The more Chuck ate, the more Casey grinned. After swallowing the third snack, Chuck looked terror stricken.

"Wait!" He yelled pointing at Casey, "The last time you had appetizers, you laced them with microbots!"

Casey's laugh confirmed his suspicions.

"Don't worry Bartowski," he teased, "they're small. It's not like you'll feel 'em swimming around in your stomach or anything."

Casey took a step closer and slapped Chuck on the back. "Now go have fun on your little field trip."

"Oh God..." Chuck nervously repeated as he made his way up the stairs.

Sarah glared at Casey. "Was that really necessary?"

"Relax Walker. Beckman may trust her, but just in case our friendly co-worker turns out to be 'not so friendly' after all, we'll have another way to track Bartowski. Not even the moron can mess this one up."

"Of course," Casey continued goading Sarah, "those microbots do track with a better resolution than his watch."

"Why I bet when the two of them get to her place, we'll be able to pull up the floorplans and observe just how long they spend in each room."

Casey laughed at Sarah's discomfort.

"How much do you trust your 'nerd-friend' now?" he said leaving the room.

* * *

_In case you're not sure who I had in mind to play the 'Charlene' character, I have a hyperlink on my fanfic profile to a picture of her standing next to Casey. _


	4. Chapter 4

I apologize for the delay between chapters. I've learned next time to get most of the story done first, before posting. :)

The good news is that the final two chapters are nearly complete.

Again, usual disclaimers about Chuck ownership apply. Enjoy!

* * *

Charlene pulled the car up to her apartment complex.

"Chuck, you've been quiet the entire ride here. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "I'm just thinking of something Casey said."

Charlene looked surprised. "John? He seems like a man of few words."

He continued looking frightened. "Sometimes his words are scary."

"I'm sure you'll be okay," she reassured him. "C'mon."

***********

Charlene closed the door behind Chuck.

"I'd offer you something, but it's not very often I get to have any visitors. Would you care for some coffee?"

Chuck stopped admiring her apartment long enough to respond. "Um, no. I'm fine thanks."

His stomach growled in protest. "Sorry," he said looking embarrassed, "I keep forgetting to eat today."

"Unfortunately I don't keep too much here... unless you like yogurt. I have about five different flavors of that. Do you have a favorite?"

"Strawberry?" he asked, picking a common flavor.

"Thanks, with Sarah's cover job I've kinda gotten used to the frozen variety. Been a while since I've had the normal kind."

"Hey, this is pretty good," he tried to say as he ate.

Charlene smiled and walked towards a cabinet. "I'm glad. Since a stop in Florida, yogurt's been a kind of habit."

"If you don't mind me asking, why don't you get to have visitors? Is it a spy thing?"

"Almost... It's a mission thing. You're given orders, a cover, and occasionally a reminder how important it is to follow them. While some covers can actually be fun, others... are more work than play."

"I'm sorry." Chuck said lowering his voice. "How do you manage? I mean- do you get to have friends? Anything for fun?"

Charlene slid a section of the cabinet down, revealing a security access panel. "I decided that as long as my assignment keeps me here, I might as well make this feel like the closest thing to home. The spy part of the day keeps me busy, and the mission requirements don't leave me with that much freedom for hobbies. But I try to think of it like I've really got two jobs. When I'm at my Buy More job, I've got coworkers that I've made friends with, and I try to do the things a normal employee might do. If nothing else," she said pointing to the entertainment system, "I've made the most of the Buy More's inventory to catch up on movies and music."

Chuck got up and walked over to the stack of DVD's. He picked up two from the top of the pile. "Evil Dead 2? Army of Darkness - I love this movie! Are you a Bruce Campbell fan?"

Charlene laughed as she typed in her code. "Just watched those for the third time. I think you might be on to something."

"Hey, you're not a die-hard James Bond fan by any chance are you?"

"No, why?"

Chuck paused to consider his answer. "Once had a traumatic experience with a... nevermind."

"Don't take this the wrong way," he insisted as he attempted to change the subject, "but you're not like any spy I've met before."

"What do you mean?" she asked with a puzzled look.

"Uh, well take away that storage unit of really cool looking stuff you just opened, access to Castle, the fact that you know Beckman, your gun, and everything else - and you actually seem normal. I mean look at your apartment. It looks like someone actually lives here! Casey's place is practically a walk-in gun locker, and aside from the punching bag that replaced her goldfish, Sarah's apartment is bare enough," he said as his words began trailing off, "that she could easily leave at any moment."

"But you- you seem friendly, and even human. You wouldn't believe the kind of agents I've met since I've- been involved with... with what I'm involved with."

"Don't worry Chuck, I'm not going to ask."

"Thanks. As if you couldn't already tell I'm not a spy, right?" he joked.

Charlene loaded equipment into two packs. "I've been there," she reassured him.

"So what made you decide to be a spy?"

Charlene turned and sighed. "I didn't originally want to be a spy. Your government was either going to limit some of my life, or more of my life. I made the choice I thought I could live with, and I'm trying to make the best of it now."

"I'm sorry," Chuck consoled. "What would you be doing if you hadn't, you know, become a spy?"

"Hard to say. Hopefully not still hacking into computers."

"You?" Chuck cried in disbelief. "A hacker? How come they didn't assign you to the Nerd Herd?"

"The mission." she declared. "Be glad Chuck," she said beginning to smile once more, "if I were a Nerd Herder, I'd kick your butt."

"So... what's it like going from a computer nerd to a spy?"

"Well, at first... missions out in the field were where they needed someone on-site with the right computer skills for the job. You wouldn't believe how many situations call for that kind of work. Eventually I picked up a few things here and there, and didn't need all the handholding getting in and out of places. They let me go on solo missions. Getting the opportunity to track the Wonderflonium was my 'promotion' to something with a larger team and much more responsibility."

From across the room she looked directly into Chuck's eyes. "You've been thinking about being an actual field agent, haven't you?"

"The thought has crossed my mind a few times," he confessed, "I just don't feel like I fit in to this whole sort of thing."

"I know. From personal experience, I still have moments where this feels foreign to me too. I've just accepted that I'm not like many of the other agents, and I do what I'm good at."

Chuck began shaking his head, "I don't know that I have what it takes. I just see sometimes how hard it is for them."

Charlene walked back towards Chuck. "I assume by 'them', you aren't talking about John."

Chuck tried to hide his smile. "See? Again, this is why I'm not a spy."

"I've had the benefit of being near the three of you for a while. You and I might have a harder time seeing the spy world the same way more established agents do, but I have seen the way Sarah is. Chuck, she isn't a 'John Casey' type of spy. Underneath layers of training, she's a real person with real feelings - just like you or anyone else you know."

"Sounds complicated," he said furrowing his brow.

"It certainly can be," she sighed. "I haven't accumulated the kind of field experience that she has, but this mission's by far the longest and most challenging."

"How come?"

"Because, short assignments keep you from getting attached to people and places. The longer you're there, the more you start to make connections."

Charlene looked down and closed the two cases. "We should probably get going. Can't keep everybody waiting."

"Yeah," Chuck lamented as he stood back up, "the mission."

***********

"I'm telling you this is as good a place as any," Casey declared as he parked the van.

"No, it's not far enough away," Charlene argued back.

"It's just a building full of egg-head lab rats. Nothing worth getting all worked up about," he said raising his voice.

"And along with the employees that work here, 'Major' Casey, is one or more somebodies who might think it's strange for an unmarked black van to be parked in a vacant part of the parking lot during a busy part of the day. You've put us way too close to these office windows."

"Let's hurry it up huh? You know, before those 'somebodies' get tired of waiting for you two and leave."

Charlene glared at Casey before grabbing her equipment and leaving the the surveillance van.

"Wow Casey," Chuck said sarcastically, "you really know how to make friends."

"Chuck," Sarah interrupted him, "you have everything? Earwig? Badge? Toolkit?"

"Yeah," he said tapping his ear, "it's in, I'm ready."

"Okay, good luck on your mission," she said as she looked at his badge, "Mr. Carmichael."

"Thanks Sarah." he said with a smile.

Casey grunted.

"Oh, sorry, and you too big guy." Chuck said as he climbed out and closed the doors to the van.

"Ready Chuck?" Charlene asked.

"Yeah, I'm just so used to wearing my Nerd Herd uniform that it kinda feels weird wearing a different one."

He did his best to cover for his slight nervousness with a smile. "Almost feel naked without my tie..." he joked.

"Hear that Walker," Casey's voice echoed through the earpiece, "they haven't even left the side of the van and he's already talking about feeling naked around his new lady-friend."

Chuck stared forward and raised his watch to his mouth. "Casey, I know giving me a hard time is your favorite hobby, but really... Could you give it a rest?"

Casey grinned in satisfaction. "Well, look who he's being protective of..."

Sarah reached over and turned off their microphones. "CASEY," she warned with a fierceness usually reserved for those about to receive physical harm, "NOT. NOW."

Casey ignored her icy stare. "Fine," he answered realizing that his fun was temporarily over.

"Now can we get on with the mission?" she asserted before turning their microphones back on.

"Don't mind him," Chuck told Charlene, "he's probably still upset that you turned out to be an agent and he's just now finding out."

"I figured so," she replied as she started towards the research building, "You good with the plan?"

"Yeah. I did have one question - why are we going in as phone repair instead of the Nerd Herd? I mean especially since we're going for the network, right?"

"Sure, first a facility this size is going to have its own IT department-"

"Been there," Chuck interjected.

"and their records show they've contracted out the support of their phone system. Second, going in as phone techs will give us access to most of the same areas that we need to bug their network without anyone asking any questions."

Chuck smiled as he retraced her thought process.

"Plus, we want that bug to last as long as possible without being noticed. Phones are almost always the first things people think get bugged. If there's someone in there that gets suspicious, we want the visitor roster to list phone techs, not IT."

Chuck eagerly chimed in, "They'll spend all their time looking at headsets and desk phones, instead of the network... right?"

"Exactly," she answered, "besides, it'll help sell our cover - your installation of the phone system at the Buy More was after all what helped you get promoted to the Nerd Herd."

"How? There's no way that's recorded in some database."

"Chuck, there's more than just technical means to gain access to that kind of information."

He stopped and looked at her blankly. "Then how?"

"Morgan."

"What did you do to Morgan?" he asked in shock.

"Don't worry," she insisted laughing, "I just offered him a free lunch."

Chuck visibly relaxed. "Well that does sound like Morgan."

"Come on," she said as they approached the door.

***********

The guard escorted Charlene and Chuck to the second floor and unlocked the door. "Here you are."

"Let me know if you need anything else."

"Thanks," Charlene replied, "We'll stop at the front desk when we're done."

The guard nodded and made his way back down the hall.

"Wow," Chuck whispered as they entered the room, "he didn't even swipe our badges."

"Sometimes it really is that easy. Want to know something I've learned along the way?"

"Of course!"

"Most of the time, people get so used to repeating their daily routines that they start to gloss over the the world that's going on around them. Sad for them on what they're missing, but good for us on days like this. As long as what you're doing doesn't stick out in some way from what they're expecting to happen... you can get away with quite a bit."

"Now..." she continued, "if we had walked in here with something that they wouldn't expect a phone tech to have, like say a weapon, there'd be questions and complications. A line tester unit," she said pointing to the device on Chuck's belt, "...much less threatening."

Chuck remained silent for a moment as Charlene began surveying the various components in the room. "Good tip" he finally offered.

"So what's next? I see that we've got switches, some routers, and probably a firewall or dozen. We can just plant the bug on one of these right?"

"No," she said tracing a bundle of wires. "Putting something here would be the easiest thing for us. It's also the easiest place for someone else to look."

"Here we are..." she declared to Chuck. "See where this is on the network? All we've got to do is install our bug on the other end of one of these cables and we should be set."

Chuck looked at the network map. "Uh, those connections run to a lab. What if there are people in there?"

"It'll be fine. Remember, you want your presence to be plausible, but forgettable. Avoid simple mistakes like making unnecessary eye contact."

"Right. Okay, plausible but forgettable. Got it."

Chuck led the way to the lab. Inside half a dozen researchers were spread around various computer systems.

"There," Charlene whispered, "a desk with a phone, a network jack, and no one currently sitting at it. Let's go."

As the two of them walked towards the desk, Chuck noticed one of the researchers glance up from her work. She looked at them for a moment before returning her attention to the screen in front of her. He hesitated breathing a sigh of relief for fear that it may give him away.

"Here," Charlene quietly said as she handed him what looked like a network jack. "Replace the one that's in the wall with this."

"This?" he asked in quiet surprise. "This is it? That's so cool, it looks just like a real one."

"Works like one too, just in case someone plugs something into it."

Chuck crawled under the desk and began removing the wall plate. Given the number of installs he had performed for the Nerd Herd, it took him nearly no time at all.

Charlene grabbed a device from her toolkit, and tapped a few keys before handing it to Chuck. "Care to do the honors?"

He pressed the 'Enter' key and watched as it indicated network traffic was in fact being intercepted. "Yes, it works!"

Three of the closest researchers turned to the source of the outburst.

"New guy already wants a raise," Charlene deadpanned for their benefit, causing one of them to chuckle slightly.

"Time for us to go," she quietly confirmed to Chuck.

Chuck and Charlene picked up their gear and made their way back into the hallway.

"Bartowski. The signal's coming through loud and clear but something out here is causing interference with our receiver."

"I've got an idea. Chuck, let's take the stairs."

"You know Walker..." Casey said muting his mic, "seems our boy Bartowski's getting some first hand spy training. I wonder how much longer it'll be before he won't need us any more..."

He watched as Sarah's reaction became clear. "Thought so." he muttered as he turned his mic back on.

"Where are we going?" Chuck asked as he followed Charlene down towards the first floor.

"We need to change how we're sending the feed-" Charlene began, "What would you suggest?"

"Me? Uh... Well... I don't know... maybe use the data part of my cell phone?"

"Exactly what I was thinking - except we'll use mine. The CIA's 'upgrades' will make it easier to hook everything up. Besides... I'm due for a new one anyway."

"Okay..." Chuck said with a proud smile. "So what do I do?"

Charlene removed the front of the emergency exit sign above the door. "While I'm setting this up, I need you to watch the hallway through the window and make sure no one's coming."

"Wait?" Chuck asked beginning to sound nervous, "won't someone wonder why I'm peeking through a window?"

"Glance down the hall..." she suggested as she worked, "but don't look like you're glancing down the hall."

"What?"

"Glance casually..."

A smile slowly spread across Chuck's face. "Wait... Did you just mean to bring Star Wars into this?"

"Ugh," they heard Casey mutter, "if I wanted to hear about Star Wars I'd go to a convention. Now can we move along and wrap up this play-date?"

Charlene ignored Casey and responded to Chuck. "It worked, didn't it? You sound a little more relaxed than a second ago. Besides, I'm almost done."

"Thanks," Chuck said as he glanced down the hallway. He observed the various lab employees walking from one destination to another. One in particular caught the Intersect's attention and caused Chuck to 'flash'.

"Uh, guys. We have a problem. The guy stopping at each room who looks like he lifts more than just beakers - um, he's not really a researcher - he's more of a 'Killing You Guy'."

"Okay, Chuck you've got to get out of there," he heard Sarah say.

"Walker," Casey warned, "we've got our own company. Looks like a visit from the local PD. Just one cop."

Charlene put the sign back together and grabbed Chuck's attention. "We're going to get out of here, but I need you to listen to me, okay?"

Chuck took a quick breath. "Yeah. Okay."

"We can't go back to the van, so we're going to have to find our own transportation."

"Wait? We can't leave Sarah and Casey." Chuck protested.

"Listen to her Bartowski," Casey ordered, "and get your butts back to Castle."

"Chuck. They will be okay," she emphasized. "Unless it's just a coincidence that a police car shows up while this guy's searching the hall, somebody here at the very least has spotted the van. Hopefully they're not onto us."

"Why the police?"

"Calling in a suspicious vehicle report is an easy way of forcing your opponent out of hiding without revealing yourself. Now remember, we're just two phone techs. We're going to pretend everything is normal and we're going to calmly exit the building. We're not going to run unless we're chased, and we're not going to notice the situation with the van - if the lot is being watched, it would be an instant giveaway. Okay?"

Chuck nodded. "Got it."

***********

Chuck and Charlene made their way out the front exit, avoiding anyone Chuck flashed on.

"I've never stolen a car before." Chuck said shaking his head.

"Borrowing. Borrowing a car." she joked. "Assuming nothing goes wrong, we'll take good care of it. Maybe the agency will even fill up the tank before they give it back."

"So..." he said surveying the parking lot with interest, "what do we take then? Truck, van... sports car?"

"Something generic, something that can blend in with other traffic if we need to... something like that one there," she said nodding to a silver four-door sedan.

"What? Don't we need something that can go faster?"

Charlene turned to Chuck with genuine surprise. "This coming from the guy who drives the 'Nerd Herd-mobile'?"

"Okay. Point taken." he conceded.

Charlene stood next to the car and pressed a button on a device attached to her keychain. Seconds later the doors unlocked and the engine started.

"Whoa... What was that?"

"It's what happens when you install for convenience over security."

Charlene shrugged before Chuck could ask his next question. "I like cars, alright? Go ahead - get in. I've only done this a couple of times, so make sure you keep your eyes open."


	5. Chapter 5

_A big thank you to the reviewers reading this - I'm glad that you've been enjoying the story and the Charlene character so far._

_I've really enjoyed writing for her. There's just one more chapter to go after this one._

_The standard disclaimers on ownership of the show still apply. _

* * *

Chuck made no effort to mask his excitement as the four team members descended into Castle.

"As much as I enjoy an uneventful escape from people who may want to kill us, I think I'm looking forward to the slightly safer 'decrypting the network traffic' part."

"You know," he said grinning at Casey and Sarah, "it's been a while since I've gotten to do anything like this - at the Buy More, I'm usually making sure someone's Internet connection is working."

He narrowed his eyes. "It's good to be back in the game..." he said trying to sound tough.

Casey watched Chuck and Charlene walk over to one of Castle's computer terminals and start working.

"Walker," he said with an annoyed tone, "I'm gonna skip this nerdgasm and clock in at the Buy More."

He turned to face Charlene's direction and raised his voice just enough for her to hear. "Maybe I'll even see who else we may have in our midst."

Sarah turned to Charlene and Chuck. They were so preoccupied with the computer they hadn't even given any attention to Casey's baiting.

"Well..." she said quietly to herself as she watched the two of them, "I guess I'll catch up on some of my paperwork..."

***********

Sarah sat at the conference table with an array of papers arranged across the work surface.

She looked at her watch, only to discover that more time had passed than she had realized. The few pieces of paperwork she had managed to complete illustrated where her attention and time had been spent.

Sarah watched Chuck and Charlene again. To her, two people who had until today been nearly strangers now had the appearance of being longtime teammates.

Her eyes dropped back down onto the paperwork in front of her as Casey's remarks ran back through her mind.

"That exciting huh?"

Chuck's voice caused her to jump in her seat.

"Sorry," he apologized, "if you're busy I can come back. I just thought you looked like you could use a break."

Sarah smiled up at him. "Don't underestimate me Mr. Bartowski... I can find stacks of small print very invigorating."

"Oh you do, do you?" he chuckled as he sat down next to her. "Well I've been staring at pages and pages of network traffic on the screen, so you have my admiration."

Sarah's smile grew. "Any luck yet?"

"No," Chuck replied, "but we're staying hopeful."

"You know, other than the whole eye strain thing, it's actually kind of fun," he continued, "She's been teaching me quite a bit about bugging networks, breaking encryption, secure communications, and I guess pretty much anything related to computer hacking."

"Yeah," Sarah said lowering her eyes a little, "it looks like you're a good team."

Sarah paused. "I wish there was something I could do. I'm not really needed... for this mission."

"Sarah, look at me," Chuck quietly reassured her, "don't say that. That whole 'wishing there was something I can contribute to the team' - that's how I feel most of the time."

"Look, you and Casey know all about this spy stuff... how to do the special fighting moves, how to shoot at the bad guys, and everything else that I have no clue about. Me? I just flash on something I happen to see or hear."

"Chuck-"

"Come on Sarah, I mean I'll never be as cool as you with your knives..."

Chuck grinned, "...or like Casey with his obsession with various forms of weaponry - although I'm hoping that last one's a good thing, right?"

"But this," he continued as he pointed back towards the computer terminal, "this kind of thing is me trying to help carry the workload around here. It's not fair for you to have to do all of this just because of me and what's in my head."

Sarah found herself looking into Chuck's eyes. She blamed the effect they were having for her inability to respond.

She followed as his eyes slowly turned down towards the table.

Much to her surprise, he had subconsciously placed his hands on hers.

Sarah couldn't believe how easily he managed to do that without her noticing.

Sarah knew that presently being 'friends', this would lead to the inevitable awkward moment.

Before Chuck could raise his eyes to notice her nervous smile, he had already moved his hands safely back in front of him.

"I'd like to see you try to get away with that again," she joked to her cover boyfriend.

Sarah felt herself blush slightly as she realized how one might interpret her comment.

"Right," Chuck said quickly glancing back at the other CIA agent in the room, "You know... I can help the team out in other ways too. Anybody for coffee? Sarah? Charlene? My treat..."

Sarah wasn't sure there was anything she could say or do that might relax the situation for either of them. "Um, sure. Yeah."

"Okay, be back in a little while," he said getting up and making his way to the stairs.

Sarah looked on as Chuck left Castle.

During these moments she wished she could read him better. Being able to mask one's thoughts was supposed to be a part of her training, not his.

She looked back down from the exit to notice that Charlene had been observing her as she watched Chuck leave.

Charlene turned to face the door. "In a way, I'm glad that he's involved in something like this."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

Charlene approached Sarah and sat down at the table.

"I mean something outside the Buy More and the Nerd Herd."

"I'm pretty sure you can guess that working there can be dull, or with certain coworkers, just... interesting." she said with a smile. "He was one of the employees that I thought stood out from the rest."

Charlene laughed lightly. "Given it's the Buy More I'm referring to, I guess I should probably clarify that - he stands out in a good way."

Sarah tried to fake a smile. "I've had the same opinion myself."

"I know I haven't been here that much longer than you and John, but you wouldn't believe how much of a change he's gone through since your assignment began."

Sarah gasped slightly with the realization that the CIA had placed someone else near Chuck first.

"It wasn't anything bad," Charlene reacted, "he was just less upbeat and he used to have a day dedicated to mourning Jill."

Sarah's eyes widened upon hearing the name of Chuck's Fulcrum ex-girlfriend. "How do you know about Jill?"

"The truth?" she asked sounding slightly embarrassed. "The BMIA."

Sarah looked perplexed. "The what?"

Charlene looked down and shook her head. "Emmett, the assistant manager at the Buy More, has a fantasy world - one that includes a fantasy spy agency. As far as I can tell, he's the only agent."

Sarah reacted with an expression that conveyed to Charlene just how glad she was that her cover was at the Orange Orange.

"Yeah, once he found out Chuck's ex was in the store, he let everyone know about it."

Sarah felt herself making a note to review the Buy More footage more frequently.

"For Chuck's sake, I'm glad she's gone. One of my first days here, Chuck must've been feeling lonely enough that Morgan tried to set him up with me, the 'new girl'."

Sarah looked up at Charlene. She wasn't sure if her reaction was caused by picturing her cover boyfriend with the 'new girl' or because the 'new girl' had seen a side of Chuck that he had often tried to shield from her.

"No worries Sarah - he declined Morgan's advice, but it unfortunately made Lester decide to give it a try."

Sarah giggled with relief. "Wait, Lester? You too?"

"I'm guessing it was pretty bad right?" Charlene said laughing a little louder.

Sarah shared in the comic relief. "Absolutely terrible..."

Sarah paused as their laughter died down. "I guess I should thank you for looking after Chuck today."

"No problem. I have a feeling I know what he's going through, so I was just trying to help him out."

"What do you mean?"

Charlene glanced back at the computer. "I've met plenty of John Casey types. Once they learn you're a 'computer person', they think you're not really capable as a field agent."

"You spend a lot of time learning about someone else's world and way of thinking, and trying twice as hard to overcome their preconceptions just to prove yourself." Charlene lightly sighed. "It's not always easy to keep yourself that motivated - especially if you didn't really choose this kind of life."

Sarah fought the urge to ask the questions that Beckman would have placed off limits. "What makes you think he wants to become an agent?" she finally inquired.

"I'm not sure he has." Charlene answered. "Given the right reasons, and with the right perspective, I do think that he could be interested."

"I just wanted to let him know that for people like us with technical backgrounds, it's still a viable option... and I think that he could make a good field agent."

The beep from the computer terminal caused Charlene to spin around and look back towards the screen.

Sarah stood up with interest. "What is it?"

Charlene got up and moved to get a closer look. "Looks like we've got a hit. It'll take a second to load enough to decrypt."

"Great!" Sarah answered as she made her way around the table.

Charlene read the contents as the words scrolled by. "It looks like someone at the lab is worried about us finding their equipment. He's asking someone for a favor - access to a low key storage facility. Sarah, they're going to move it tonight. I'd better call Casey, and-"

"I'll get Chuck." Sarah blurted as she ran up the stairs.

The redhead sat at the station, her view fixed on the door Sarah had disappeared through.

"I wish for your sake that you would."

***********

Casey abruptly stopped the black van, causing the others to slightly lose their balance.

"Okay Bartowski," he growled, "I'm only going to say this once. Me, Walker, and the green-shirt are going to stop the bad guys from moving the equipment. YOU, stay here. Got it?"

Chuck pleadingly looked towards Sarah and Charlene, hoping they would overrule Casey.

Sarah met Chuck's eyes. "I'm sorry Chuck, it's going to be safer here. We don't know who they are, or how many might be in there."

"Okay," he reluctantly answered.

Charlene waited for Casey and Sarah to leave the van.

"Patience young Skywalker," she said with a smile, "it's not like there will ever be a shortage of bad guys - you'll get your chance. Besides... would you rather have Casey being the one trying to decrypt the network feed?"

Casey's voice was loud even from outside the van. "I heard that."

Charlene jumped out, and slid the door closed. "Good!"

Chuck tried to make himself comfortable in front of displays. One continued monitoring the decrypted network traffic. Another showed the building's floor plans. The others ran live video feeds from each of the three agents.

"Okay team," he said trying to sound like he was in charge, "the two biggest labs for storing some heavy duty equipment are going to be on the third... and fifth floors."

Casey's orders came across the radio, "You two take the fifth floor, I'll take the third."

Chuck restlessly watched as the three made their way inside and up through the stairwell.

"Casey, we're at the door leading to the fifth floor." Sarah whispered.

"Okay, go." he directed.

Chuck watched as the agents made their way down fairly empty hallways. He counted less than a dozen office lights turned on between the two floors.

Casey's gruff voice returned to the radio. "Got two guys near the delivery elevator - armed."

"We're on our way," Sarah whispered.

Chuck watched Casey's video feed as he snuck up behind the first guard.

Casey's swift punch knocked the guard out instantly.

The second guard reacted quicker than Casey expected, sending his weapon flying.

Casey grinned. "Honest hand-to-hand combat..."

"Sarah," Chuck said, "Casey got one guy down but he's duking it out with the other guy."

"Chuck - any sign of anybody else or the equipment?"

"No. Not yet."

"What's the quickest way to Casey?" Charlene asked.

"Oh - okay, you're going to want to... let's see... go back three maybe four offices and turn left. There should be a short hallway and at the end is a stairway. The middle of Casey's floor is about as close as you can get."

Chuck watched as Casey traded blows with his opponent before finally getting the upper hand. He panted as he stood over his motionless foe.

"Alright Casey! Way to kick butt."

"Shut up Chuck. Just keep your eyes open."

"Ow," Chuck heard Casey say under his breath. His video feed began to wobble unsteadily.

Chuck began to panic. "Casey, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Nope," was as far as Casey could reply as he slowly slumped to the floor.

For a brief moment Chuck could see the image of a man holding a familiar looking gun.

"Sarah, Charlene, a guy just shot Casey with the kind of dart gun they used on me - he's at the elevator and he's got a bunch of equipment with him!"

Chuck watched Sarah and Charlene carefully make their way to Casey's floor.

"Chuck," Sarah whispered, "can you see anything on Casey's camera?"

"No, nothing - it's pointed up at the ceiling."

The two CIA agents checked that the hallway was clear before making their way down to the elevator.

Sarah's face suddenly filled Casey's video feed.

"Sarah, is he okay?" Chuck asked with concern.

"He's alright, but he'll be out for a while."

Chuck let out a sigh of relief.

Charlene stood up. "Chuck, if this guy took the elevator, what's the best way for him to move that equipment?"

"Uh, one second. Okay... looking... right - the best way would probably be that service elevator down... all the way to the ground floor, to what looks like through a shipping area, and... out to the loading dock on the north side."

"The elevator's already at the ground floor," Sarah briskly answered. "Come on, we'll take the stairs."

Chuck followed their descent down the three flights of stairs. He couldn't believe that despite the speed they were rushing, they were practically silent. "That's so cool - I gotta learn how to do that," he mumbled under his breath.

Charlene and Sarah made their way to the doors leading to the loading area. Neither door allowed for a view of what might be outside.

With a silent nod and their guns drawn, the two agents made their charge - only to find an average looking delivery truck.

"No one's here..." Sarah expressed.

"I beg to differ," said the man's voice.

Chuck watched as Charlene's camera turned to face the direction of the sound. The man with the cart full of equipment pointed his silenced weapon at her and Sarah.

"I had a hunch there might be others joining me tonight," he continued as he walked closer, "and seeing that you've greatly inconvenienced me, you'll find I'm a bit more than upset. Now, put the weapons down and walk back until you reach the wall."

Chuck's jaw dropped. "Oh... not good, not good..."

He yanked the wired set from his head and jammed an earpiece in its place. He traced the floor plan with his finger. "Got it," he assured himself.

"Hang on..." he wished Sarah and Charlene as he left the confines of the van.

The unidentified villain slowly pulled the cart up to where Sarah and Charlene had left their weapons. "Nice..." he sarcastically uttered, "souvenirs."

He picked the two guns up and continued towards the truck.

"You have no idea," he taunted as he opened the back of the truck, "how close this project is. I'll be buying my own island in no time."

"Of course," he clarified as he methodically lowered the loading ramp, "I'd be there now if you hadn't gotten in the way of my original transaction."

"So much of my time and money wasted," he said shaking his head, "and yet here you are again."

"It makes it all the more fitting that-"

The sound of someone struggling to move a stack of boxes through the loading doors interrupted his monologue, much to Charlene's relief.

"You!" he shouted, "Stop right where you are!"

"Sorry," Chuck deadpanned, "gotta make sure what's in these boxes gets delivered."

"If you'll put those boxes down you'll see I've got a gun pointed at you, so I think you'll do as I say."

"Whoa," Chuck continued to deadpan as he placed the stack on the ground, "good, bad, I'm just the guy with the boxes."

"Well 'guy with the boxes', you've got a new job - you're going to load this cart into the back of the truck for me."

Chuck grabbed the cart's handle and began slowly pushing it towards the ramp. "Fine, just so you know, I have a name - and it's Ash... Ash Lichtenstein."

The villain looked at Chuck with disbelief.

"I know," Chuck grunted as he pushed the cart up the ramp, "I get that a lot. Been thinking I'd be better off being a Bruce."

He glanced over at Sarah and Charlene to see how he was doing. Charlene's reaction suggested she was following Chuck's hint. Sarah meanwhile appeared to be alarmed by something else entirely.

"There," Chuck announced as he started walking back towards the loading ramp, "There you go. Big heavy cart... all pushed up and in the back of your truck."

"Now Mr. Whatever-your-name-is," he said looking up at Chuck, "there's one more thing you can do for me."

Chuck failed to completely hide the nervousness that came from having a gun pointed at him. "What's that?" he said raising his hands.

"You've been so useful, I'd like you to stay in there so that you can also handle unloading it for me later. So, if you wouldn't mind," he said waving his gun, "go ahead and pull that door down."

Chuck had a hard time biting his tongue. It took all of his will not to look over in fear towards Sarah and Charlene or instinctively call out either of their names. "I'm the guy with the delivery boxes," he asserted himself in his thoughts, "plausible and forgettable..."

"Okay." he finally answered out loud.

Chuck pulled the door down and heard the outside latch locking him in.

Sarah and Charlene watched the villain make his way towards the driver's side of the delivery truck.

"And now," he emphasized with his raised voice, "this time I will get away with something that you really want. I hope that both of you fully enjoy, as I was forced to, the misery of being close, but not close enough."

As he climbed inside and started the engine, Charlene looked over at Sarah. She was surprised Sarah's expression hadn't managed to kill the villain all by itself.

"Sarah," Charlene whispered hoping to snap her out of her trance.

Sarah surveyed the area. "He's got to drive to the end and back this way to leave through the gate. But I don't have anything that will break the windshield."

The truck's engine roared as it lunged forward. With the threat of gunfire out of the way, Charlene ran towards the stack of boxes.

"I think Chuck's helped us out with that part!"

Spilling the contents of the second box produced two guns. "Here," she said tossing one of them to Sarah.

"Come on, we can take cover behind the guard post!" Sarah yelled back.

The two agents sprinted over and took their positions. As the delivery truck neared, Sarah made her presence known by shooting out one of the front tires.

The truck came to a halt in front of them. The once threatening driver now held his hands up in plain view.

"OUT OF THE TRUCK AND GET ON THE GROUND!" Agent Walker demanded.

Charlene kept her gun aimed at him as Sarah applied the handcuffs.

"I'll keep an eye on him, go ahead and check-" she began to say before Sarah quickly disappeared, "-on the guy with the boxes."

Sarah unlocked the latch and quickly lifted the door open. "Chuck!" she said with a sigh of relief.

"Well," he said standing up, "looks like he didn't get away this time after all, huh?"

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"What?!?" Chuck protested.


	6. Chapter 6

_Here's the final chapter to Chuck vs The One That Almost Got Away. _

_I've truly appreciated reading through all of your reviews - it means a lot. This has__ been an enjoyable project to write. _

_ To continue with the goal of having an episode type feel, I've posted on my author profile page what I thought might pass for the background music that often gets mixed in towards the end._

_Hopefully it isn't too confusing to follow how I imagined it fitting together. :)_

_As usual, the standard disclaimers with show ownership, etc, apply._

* * *

Chuck, Sarah and Charlene descended from the Orange Orange into Castle.

Sarah looked back at Chuck with a smile, "I'm curious, where'd you get your cover name?"

"What, you mean 'Ash'?"

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, that one."

Chuck grinned. "When I went to Charlene's, I saw one of the movies she had just watched was 'Army of Darkness' - the movie is packed with one-liners. At one point the good-guy, 'Ash' is talking to the bad-guy version of himself-"

Chuck stopped for a second as he questioned Sarah's actual interest in the movie.

"-right. Anyway, one of my favorites is when he says 'Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.'"

"I see. So, 'Ash'," Sarah addressed him playfully, "you really were the guy with the guns."

"But we didn't have any spare weapons in the van," she noted.

"Yeah - the guns - I saw on Casey's video feed that the guys he took out were armed. Didn't look like anyone stopped by to pick them up, and it seemed like a shame to just leave them there like that..." he said with a big grin.

"Still, you could've gotten hurt," Sarah gently reminded him.

"Come on... there were two soon-to-be-armed CIA agents there. I was pretty sure they would have everything under control..." he jokingly pleaded.

The sound of Charlene's laughter from across the room put an end to Sarah's questioning.

"Well, good work tonight Mr. Lichtenstein." Sarah softly said. "You want to join us for the call with Beckman?"

Chuck glanced at the blank widescreen display. "As much as I enjoy that frightening stare of hers, I actually have something I've been meaning to take care of. Can I take a raincheck?"

"Sure, of course." Sarah caught herself starting to lean in towards Chuck. "Uh, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah... tomorrow." he quietly answered.

Sarah gave Chuck an awkward smile to cover her embarrassment before she turned to carry Casey's gear to the back storage area.

"Chuck?" Charlene asked as she walked up to him. "You leaving?"

"Uh yeah. Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure I got the chance to congratulate you, that was pretty quick thinking. Good work."

"Thanks... wait - why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?"

"I am. I have to."

"Why? Where are you going?"

Charlene tried her best to mask her disappointment as she switched back to her American accent. "By midnight the order to work with your team will have expired. Tomorrow I'll have to resume my primary mission as a 'green-shirt' as John calls me - and you, Sarah, and John will continue with your mission."

"What? We're just supposed to go back to being strangers?"

"Unless General Beckman's in a good mood and alters either mission," she said trying to smile, "that's about the extent of it. Any contact will have to be 'maintained within the mission parameters' - in other words: cover distance. I'll have to pretend I don't really know you, or Sarah, or..."

"Casey?" Chuck interjected.

Charlene chuckled. "John's not going to be a problem - he's got a natural distance with pretty much everybody. But as part of the cover, you and Sarah will have to pretend not to really know me either."

The realization slowly sank in. "These cover lives can really get complicated... I guess I was hoping I'd get to learn from you more about what it's like to be a spy."

"Don't worry Chuck. I went through the same thing. You're a smart guy - you'll have no problem figuring it out... if that's what you want. Besides, if you do, you've always got Sarah and John to ask- well... at least Sarah."

"I've really enjoyed working with you today." Charlene held out her hand, "I should probably be getting the paperwork together for the debriefing."

"Thanks Charlene. Same here. You've been a really big help," he said shaking her hand, "Is it okay if I say 'Hi' to you at the Buy More?"

"I think they might be okay with that. I guess I'll see you tomorrow at 'work'."

Chuck nodded in agreement.

***********

The widescreen conferencing display turned off.

"I can't believe John still looks groggy," Charlene commented.

"Trust me," Sarah grinned, "Casey dealing with being taken down by a dart, and learning what he missed out on - you should be glad he wasn't actually here in person."

Charlene laughed as she began packing up her paperwork.

"What about Chuck? Is he always like this outside the Buy More?"

"Sometimes," Sarah softly admitted with a light smile, "the part about not staying in the van - always."

"He's trying pretty hard you know..." the redhead noted after a pause, "and I'm not just talking about today."

Charlene's words took a moment to register with Sarah. "What do you mean? Chuck and I- we work together."

"Yeah, I've got someone I work with too. He's a bit of a rookie, so I think when he looks at me, he can't get passed seeing another spy. Sometimes I wonder if he really does have feelings for me - but that he's just too afraid of what he thinks those rules might do to us. I just hope I get the chance to find out before I'm assigned somewhere else."

"You're lucky in a way," Charlene continued, "because I think Chuck's gotten passed a lot of that - he's capable of accepting you as a regular person."

Sarah sat down at the table and pretended to look busy. "My job here is to keep Chuck safe."

Charlene resumed packing her things. "The mission for today is over - don't we deserve the right to be happy like the rest of them?"

As she walked towards the bottom of the stairs, she saw that Sarah's mind was somewhere else.

"I'm sorry if I said something wrong. I thought with all the time you must spend around John that it would be good to know that you're not alone - there really should be the opportunity to have more than just the next assignment."

Agent Walker continued to sit in silence.

"Well, if we don't get to work together again," Charlene said, "I want to wish you the best of luck."

Sarah cleared her throat, stopping the agent halfway up the stairs. "Charlene- thanks, you too."

***********

Chuck sat up on the edge of his bed. "It's now or never," he decided.

He walked down the hall until he reached the kitchen. Ellie laid on the couch watching TV with mild interest.

"Sis, you have a minute?"

"Of course," she said turning around. "What's up?"

Chuck failed to hide the nervousness in his voice. "Well," he began, "you know the holidays are coming up, and I kinda want to do something special for Sarah."

Ellie's face lit up with excitement. "You want some help picking out a gift?"

Chuck paused for a moment, trying to decide how to best continue the conversation. "Sorry El... I kind of already have something in mind."

He watched as his sister's face lost some of its enthusiasm. "But- I do want to run something by you though," he offered.

"Okay. What are you giving her?"

"I was thinking... something she could wear," he said pointing to his wrist.

Ellie stood up and brought her eagerness towards Chuck. "Oh? Look who's getting serious... If you don't mind me asking, what did you give her last year?"

Chuck darted his eyes towards the TV to avoid his sister's reaction. "I gave her an alarm clock."

"You did WHAT!?!" she cried out. "Chuck, why on earth would you give your girlfriend an alarm clock for Christmas?"

He turned his attention back to Ellie. "Trust me," he assured her, "it's a long story, but it was a good idea... and she totally dug it."

"Okay," she mumbled, failing to comprehend Chuck's gift giving process. "So how'd you think of a much better gift this year?"

"I guess I kinda feel like I have a better understanding of things," he confessed.

"You know... It just feels like with everything going on that it gets crazy sometimes... you never really know what to expect next. Eventually you start to realize you're missing out on all this good stuff that's happening right now in front of you. I'd just like to try and keep those good parts of my life from getting away from me."

He noticed his sister's silence. "And... I thought I'd let her know how I really feel about her."

Ellie processed Chuck's explanation carefully. "Good answer," she said smiling. "You want me to come along and help you pick something out?"

This was the moment that gave Chuck concern. "I've already picked something out... I'd like to give her this," he said holding up their mother's charm bracelet.

He watched her jaw drop for what felt like far too long. "Uh, sis?"

"Sorry Chuck- yeah, if you feel about her the way that I think you do, then sure..." Ellie resumed smiling. "yes."

"You're sure it's okay?"

"Of course... I guess I'm surprised... Not about her, you know I love Sarah. I'm just glad to see my little brother is finally reaching this level of commitment."

Chuck looked down at the charm bracelet. "Sarah is my girlfriend."


End file.
